25/10/2025

SATURDAY | OCT 25, 2025

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Japan ‘deportation ministry’ rumour spreads online

Indonesia moves residents from radioactive site JAKARTA: The Indonesian government has started relocating residents living in areas surrounding the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate, a site found to have been contaminated with radioactive Caesium-137, a spokesperson told Reuters yesterday. The effort was initiated after Indonesia detected high levels of Caesium-137, a man-made radionuclide, at the industrial zone near the capital Jakarta. “At this first stage, we are allocating 19 families with a total of 63 individuals. Why now? Because it is time to clean up their houses from contamination,“ said special task force spokesperson Bara Hasibuan. In the next stage, the task force aims to move another eight families with a total of 28 people by next week, he added. The task force also said it has finished the decontamination process at 20 of the 22 facilities at the industrial estate that contained traces of Caesium-137. The contamination was first detected in a batch of shrimp shipped to the United States in August by a local company. The United States has imposed new certification requirements for imports of shrimp and spices from Indonesia. Indonesia has no nuclear weapons or nuclear power plants. – Reuters Worker sued over ‘theft’ of snacks in Seoul SEOUL: A worker accused of “stealing” snacks worth less than a dollar in South Korea has been embroiled in a more than year-long legal battle. The subcontracted delivery driver for a logistics firm is charged with theft for taking a Choco Pie and a mini custard worth KRW$1,050 (RM3) from an office fridge last year. Prosecutors deemed the offence minor and filed a summary indictment, but the driver said he is innocent and requested a formal trial. The defendant claimed that other drivers had told him that “there are snacks in the fridge, feel free to eat them”, according to court documents. But the firm argued that drivers were not allowed to “open the refrigerator without permission”, unless they were offered snacks. A court found him guilty and fined him KRW$50,000, around fifty times the value of what he had eaten. The worker immediately appealed, with a new trial kicking off last month. Experts have told local media that the legal fees paid by the defendant could amount to roughly 10,000 times the value of the snacks eaten. The case has sparked public outcry in South Korea, with labour unions comparing the worker with French classic novel “Les Miserables” protagonist Jean Valjean, who is jailed for stealing bread to feed his siblings. It was even raised in a heated parliamentary debate this week. The next hearing is scheduled next week, with two witnesses for the defence set to testify. – AFP

Thai election likely on March 29, says govt BANGKOK: The likely date for a general election in Thailand is March 29, a senior government official told Reuters yesterday after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul discussed the issue with the country’s Election Commission. Anutin earlier said he plans to dissolve parliament by the end of January, with a general election to follow in March or early April. “The government and the Election Commission have discussed the timeframe for holding the election,“ said Paradorn Prissananantakul, a minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office. He also said a referendum on a new Constitution and another to decide on whether to revoke two agreements concerning border demarcation with Cambodia would likely take place alongside the general election. The Election Commission has yet to set the election date but its chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong said the details would be worked out on the poll vote and the two referendums, which would likely take place on the same day. The estimated budget for the election and referendums would stand at THB$9 billion (RM1.16 billion) and about 53 million Thais are eligible to participate, said Ittiporn. Anutin won a parliamentary vote in early September to become Thailand’s third prime minister since August 2023. To win power, he secured the backing of the opposition People’s Party, but calling an election within four months of taking office and holding a referendum on a new Constitution were two conditions of its support. – Reuters The rumours circulating on X and Facebook, largely in English, say Japan’s first woman premier Sanae Takaichi, who was sworn in this week, asked Minister of State for Economic Security Kimi Onoda to TOKYO: False claims that Japan’s new prime minister has created a ministry for “mass deportations” have been widely spread online as immigration misinformation swirls after a “Japanese first” party did well in elections earlier this year. o Minister says country would strictly handle foreigners who break rules, but no mention of expulsions

circulated

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remain low compared with other rich economies, but with an ageing population, one of the world’s lowest birth rates and worker shortages in many industries, the number of immigrants is increasing. The rising number of foreigners, including tourists, was a major issue in the race for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership earlier this month, which Takaichi won before being elected prime minister. Takaichi accused foreigners of kicking deer in her hometown Nara. One of the widely circulated posts on X said Takaichi was “sworn in and immediately created a ministry for mass deportations”, and received more than nine million views. Another video spread on Facebook falsely claimed that Japan’s emperor had approved “the nationwide deportation plan”. The false claims were also

lead the new ministry. Onoda was on Tuesday tapped for a number of roles, chiefly economic security minister and minister in charge of a “society of well-ordered and harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals”. A department with the same name was created under Takaichi’s predecessor Shigeru Ishiba, but the appointment of a Cabinet minister to supervise it is new. At a press conference on Wednesday, Onoda said Japan would “strictly handle foreign nationals who do not follow the rules”, but there was no mention of mass deportations. “The inappropriate use of various systems by some foreign residents, their crimes and misbehaviour are causing anxiety and a sense of unfairness among Japanese people.” Immigration levels in Japan

and Spanish. They come after a Japanese cultural and social exchange programme with four African nations was cancelled last month, after it triggered floods of emails and phone calls from people falsely believing it was a new immigration policy. Also last month, Kitakyushu city reportedly received complaints after inaccurate claims that it had planned Muslim-friendly school lunches. In July, the anti-immigration Sanseito party did well in upper house elections, growing its seat tally to 15 from two. In the lower chamber, it has three MPs. Its agenda echoes other populist movements, railing against “elitism” and “globalism”, and saying it would “bring power back to the people”. – AFP

Kim greeting soldiers at the groundbreaking ceremony in Pyongyang. – REUTERSPIC

N. Korea building memorial for troops SEOUL: North Korea has begun building a memorial for soldiers killed fighting in the war between Russia and Ukraine, state media said yesterday, with leader Kim Jong Un hailing a “historic peak” in ties with Moscow. In remarks carried by KCNA, Kim praised the troops for helping Russia achieve a “decisive victory”. “Our heroes destroyed the fiendish neo-Nazi invaders with their staunch spirit to not tolerate any aggression but to annihilate the aggressors. Images released by state media showed Kim embracing visibly emotional soldiers at the ceremony in Pyongyang. Russia and North Korea last year agreed to a strategic partnership agreement that obligates each side to provide “military and other assistance” should either of them be attacked.

The so-called Memorial Museum of Combat Feats would be built in the capital Pyongyang, where Kim and Russia’s ambassador to North Korea attended a groundbreaking ceremony, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim said the museum “is a sacred sanctuary dedicated to the immortality of true patriots”. North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers and container loads of weapons to help the Kremlin push Ukrainian forces out of western Russia. At least 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded, according to estimates from South Korea.

“Pyongyang will always be with Moscow. Our friendship and unity will last forever,“ said Kim. He also said the memorial would feature sculptures dedicated to the North Korean soldiers who fought in Russia, as well as photos and artwork portraying the combat. Moscow’s ambassador to North Korea Aleksandr Matsegora and other Russian embassy officials attended Thursday’s ceremony, KCNA reported. Several North Korean government and military officials were also present, along with families of soldiers who have died in Russia.

In Moscow, an art exhibition has been held to celebrate ties with Pyongyang, depicting North Korean soldiers and their Russian comrades resisting a hostile West. North Korea confirmed that it had deployed troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine in April, and that its soldiers had been killed in combat. Washington has said there is evidence that Russia is stepping up support for North Korea, including providing help on advanced space and satellite technology, in return for its assistance in fighting Ukraine. – AFP